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Flax and white quartz. Comparison as a tool and the seductive temptation of analogy. At the site of Käringsjön, archaeologists have found food remains, flax and white quartz, all of which also play a significant role in later written sources concerning the pre-Christian religion in Scandinavia. But how relevant are those late sources for the sacrificial site of Käringsjön? Contemporary sources such as Tacitus’ Germania, on the other hand, have other difficulties. The Käringsjön finds tells us more about the Late Iron Age than other sacrificial sites from the same period. To a large extent they contain weapons, whereas no weapons have been found in Käringsjön. This article deals with some of the problems of the use of comparison and analogies, but also suggests how to use them and what they may tell us about the unique site of Käringsjön. Using late Iron Age or medieval sources for the early Iron Age, carries the risk of hiding the genuine conceptions of the period and filling gaps with material that may be totally irrelevant. Early Iron Age man, too, has a right to be unique.

6.

Bertell, Maths

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, Section for History of Religions.

As is well known, Symbolism showed a considerable overlap with Western esotericism, and artists often genuinely considered themselves occult mystics pursuing an esoteric quest in their art. Many also displayed a special fascination for darkly tinged occultism, a fact that is too often discussed only in a very superficial manner. Aiming to rectify this negligence somewhat, this paper explores a practice in Symbolist literature and art that can be termed imitatio satanae. This etiquette paraphrases the term for the Christian practice of trying to emulate Christ’s example (imitatio christi), but instead seeks to capture the sympathy for the Devil evinced by some Symbolists.Symbolists and Decadents like Stanislaw Przybyszewski and Félicien Rops depicted themselves with demonic attributes, and hereby “followed the example of Satan”, viewed through the lens of the old Romantic re-interpretation of Milton’s Lucifer. This also fits in with a general tendency to sacralize symbols of sinfulness, typically in a manner part playful and part serious, that we find in artists as diverse as Franz von Stuck and Edvard Munch. None of these artists were, of course, Satanists in any strict sense. There is, however, one exception: the Pole Przybyszewski, who openly confessed such an allegiance. The paper therefore pays special attention to his philosophy of art, which both embraces typical Symbolist ideas and points forward to Expressionism. In Przybysewski’s texts from the 1890’s, the artist-superman is celebrated as a symbolic Satan, who critiques bourgeoisie values and rises above the “mediocre lambs of God”. Artists like Gustav Vigeland are portrayed in Przybyszewski’s art criticism as Promethean, demonic figures who practice imitatio satanae, something that is to a great extent a projection of the Pole’s own endeavors.The paper connects these ideas to practices in non-Satanist esoteric groups during the time period, such as The Golden Dawn in England and their assuming of “god-forms” in a ritual context. It also relates imitatio satanae, as a specifically Symbolist artistic concept, to the re-molding of the universe from a subjective position that the Romantics identified as a core theme in Milton’s Paradise Lost.

20.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

The article discusses some of the debates over the construction of gender taking place in the satanic and Left-hand Path (LHP) milieu, in particular the different varieties of upvaluing of “the feminine.” This includes disputes over what the term feminism entails, what the best strategies for women to gain more power are, and if “feminine” is an essence that can be contrasted with a fixed “masculine.”

Notions of gender polarity as necessary for magical practice or cosmic balance are given special attention, as are borrowings from feminist terminology (e.g. “patriar- chy”) by figures that are far from feminist in orientation. Aside from tex- tual sources, the article draws on communication with 44 informants.

Three basic approaches to gender can be discerned in the milieu: 1) Gender as an insignificant category, 2) Gender as a natural polarity, 3) Gender as false consciousness. Of these, number two is the most common, while number one is quite seldom seen—gender is a major issue, one way or another. Femininity is frequently discussed by both men and women, while masculinity is a less popular topic. Femininity, then, is a particularly contested matter in the milieu.

Overall, the dominant view of gender is that the two sexes should be strictly dichotomized. The article concludes that with some exceptions most organizations in the milieu are numerically dominated by men. However, some important groups have periodically been led by women, and there are several female key producers of ideology. The partly reactionary views concerning gender issues held by some female leaders indicate that female leadership does not necessitate that a conventional feminism would permeate the organization. Further, it is difficult to see any absolute correlation between female leadership and upvaluing of the feminine in mythology. Moreover, the article demonstrates, such upvaluing does not in itself always signify an underlying ideology of political feminism.

24.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

A study of which types of Satanism were present before the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966. The conclusion is that very few individuals or organisations prior to 1966 could reasonably be labelled Satanists, but that a few examples can in fact be found, and that some of these should be considered important for the development of the forms of Satanism that we can observe today.

27.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

Some scholars have been keen to emphasize the gothic novel as a predominately female genre, created by a woman, Ann Radcliffe, and throughout the ages read mostly by women. Gothic literature is frequently centred on an ambivalent discourse concering transgression, where the transgressive is often portrayed in a fashion not strictly condemning. The paper examines four major Gothic novels - William Beckford’s Vathek (1786), Matthew Lewis’ The Monk (1796), Charlotte Dacre’s Zofloya, or The Moor (1806), and Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) - where females are given agency and power by colluding with Satan, something which is depicted in an ambivalent manner. The mostly female readership surely did not consist only of conservative individuals fully satisfied with traditional roles for women. The readers who had a more rebellious nature might have identified to some extent with the demonic females in the novels, since these are typically the only females in the narratives who have any agency and power to speak of. The paper attempts readings showing in what way the texts facilitate such identification.

34.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

The chapter investigates how Anton LaVey constructs a Satanic tradition in his texts, and to what use he puts it. It presents an interpretation of this based on LaVey’s overall ontology and view of religious and esoteric phenomena. LaVey both utilizes historical predecessors in a way that is common within Western esotercism in general, and breaks with this common usage. Discarding most of the old esoteric and Satanic material as ineffectual and outdated, he paradoxically still emerges as dependent on it. The chapter argues that the prime function of tradition for LaVey is not legitimization, as perhaps would be expected. Rather, he seems to deem tradition most useful for bringing about certain psychological effects in a framework where one practises the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ in a limited context, playfully creating the right atmosphere for Satanic activities. The mechanics of tradition are thus openly displayed and consciously utilized as mood‐creating spectacle for purely instrumental purposes. Hence, LaVey’s references to secret lineages should not be considered a counterfeiting of tradition, since he is quite openly playing with the psychological effects of (a more or less fictitious) tradition, and inviting others to take part in this game.

37.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

A discussion of Stanislaw Przybyszewski's (1868-1927) Satanism and ideas about demonic women, situating them in the context of fin-de-siécle use of Satanic symbolism in connection with Anarchism and Feminism. My focus is primarily on two texts, Przybyszewski’s essay Auf den Wegen der Seele (“On the Paths of the Soul”, 1897) and his small historical monograph Die Synagoge des Satan (“The Synagogue of Satan”, 1897), but with sideward glances on several other texts as well, such as his novel Satans Kinder (“Satan’s Children”, 1897), the Homo Sapiens trilogy (1895-1896) and various short stories and essays.

45.

Faxneld, Per

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.

Recent years have seen a significant shift in the study of new religious movements. In Satanism studies, interest has moved to anthropological and historical work on groups and inviduals. Self-declared Satanism, especially as a religion with cultural production and consumption, history, and organization, has largely been neglected by academia. This volume, focused on modern Satanism as a practiced religion of life-style, attempts to reverse that trend with 12 cutting-edge essays from the emerging field of Satanism studies. Topics covered range from early literary Satanists like Blake and Shelley, to the Californian Church of Satan of the 1960s, to the radical developments that have taken place in the Satanic milieu in recent decades. The contributors analyze such phenomena as conversion to Satanism, connections between Satanism and political violence, 19th-century decadent Satanism, transgression, conspiracy theory, and the construction of Satanic scripture. A wide array of methods are employed to shed light on the Devil's disciples: statistical surveys, anthropological field studies, philological examination of The Satanic Bible, contextual analysis of literary texts, careful scrutiny of obscure historical records, and close readings of key Satanic writings. The book will be an invaluable resource for everyone interested in Satanism as a philosophical or religious position of alterity rather than as an imagined other.

47.

Faxneld, Per

et al.

Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies, History of Religions.